Korean Job Discussion Forums

[discostu333]

I'm venturing off on my first ESL trip to Korea in the new year and I've been doing loads of research on the people, culture, and especially the food. I lived with 2 Korean girls at uni over the summer and they ate this pickled cabbage and chilli stuff all the time which I now know is called kimchi. I'm big into my spicy food especially Mexican and Indian, the hotter the better, and I wasn't really impressed with the spice level of their pickled cabbage stuff.

All I keep hearing on boards like this and from friends already out in Korea is that a lot of the food is really spicy and that a lot of Westerners don't like it. To me it sounds like heaven, although I don't want to get there and be dissapointed. For the Indian lovers out there, does Korea have the equivalent of Madras / Vindaloo / Phal strength spicy?

[VorcePA]

Correct answer: it varies. Some is relatively mild, some can be on the extreme end of hot. There are as many levels of hot as there are people who make kimchi.

[TK421]

It's not that spicy at all to me. If you like spicy, you'll like it. It's not even on my list of top 20 spiciest things I've eaten.

[redaxe]

WOW, YOU CAN EAT KIMCHI?

IT IS NOT TOO SPICY FOR YOU?

WOW, YOU ARE JUST LIKE KOREAN!

[Hightop]

In reality the answer to your question should always be 'Kimchi is spicy but delicious'. Except for buldak, there is only one spicy.

[Hightop]

[Xuanzang]

Looks spicier than its bite.

[blackjack]

Most of the everyday kimchis are not spicy or only mildly spicy, however every now and again you run in to a very spicy batch

[curiousaboutkorea]

[The Goalie]

If you want spicy food look for something that starts with this: 불

Unless it's followed by this: 싯

[MalFSU1]

I have always been a bit of a wimp when it comes to spicy food, especially Indian food. I have yet to find anything in Korea I couldn't eat. Sometimes they ask me, "Is it too spicy?" and I just give them a puzzled look. One time I did accidently eat a pepper in some soup and it was super hot, but the soup on it's own was not spicy.

[seonsengnimble]

[detourne_me]

[mayorgc]

Kimchi isn't so much spicy, it's just a tad bit too pungent for most westerneners. My opinion anyways.

But good spicy food that I've had in Korea is Kimchi-jjigae and sundubu jjigae.

[eamo]

I've never had kimchi that was really spicy. It's yet another Korean self-generated myth.

What you can get though is very hot Kimchi Chiggae (stew) because the cook has thrown in a lot of extra chili powder. My MIL makes chiggae the devil himself would choke on!!